August 15, (THEWILL) – Venus Williams produced a vintage performance to upset 16th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova at the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
The 43-year-old showed all of her experience as she recovered from deficits in both sets to claim a 6-4 7-5 victory over her Russian opponent. She may have not beaten a top-20 player in four years, but Williams demonstrated tremendous composure and overcame being broken in the early stages of both sets to mount remarkable comebacks. After losing four straight games in the first set, Williams won the final five to take the opener.
In the second set, Kudermetova appeared to have gained control as she won four consecutive games. However, the Russian faltered with double faults at crucial moments to allow Williams back into the match. Fending off a break point at 4-5, Williams broke Kudermetova in the next game and took the set as her opponent double faulted twice more in the final game.
Converting six of nine break point opportunities, Williams showed she still has the game to trouble the best players. The seven-time Grand Slam champion will take great confidence from this victory over a top-20 opponent – something she had not achieved since 2019. Her composure and clutch serving under pressure were evident as she claimed one of the biggest upsets of the Cincinnati tournament so far.
After rolling back the years with this performance, Williams has proven she can still be a threat at the age of 43. Few would have predicted this result, but the veteran summoned some of her best tennis when she needed it most to pull off a memorable win.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
